Masters Studies

Preparing For Your Masters Degree Interview

Fewer and fewer academic institutions are interviewing candidates these days, especially when it comes to undergraduates. This is largely because of the number of students applying and the number of courses that are on offer. However, when it comes to postgraduate studies, because it is at a higher standard, some universities do still interview and if that is the case for you, then it is as well to be prepared.

The exact form that your interview will take depends upon the subject that you are hoping to be studying. For example, you are more likely to be asked to prepare a presentation for a small group if you are applying to study for a Masters in Education or Business. This is because in both these disciplines, you would need to make presentations as part of your course. The fact that what you will be studying on your course will affect the content of your interview is something that you should certainly bear in mind when you are preparing for your interview.

A further example of how content of course and content of interview are correlated is in the way that the interview is likely to be structured. For instance, a one-to-one interview is much more likely in a subject like English Literature, for example, because you may well be asked to discuss an extract from a text. Your examiner might just pick a text at random and ask you to discuss it or you could be asked to prepare a piece in advance for discussion on the day. In either case, you can see how different one subject area is from another in the manner of interview.

In a sense, this is exactly how it should be because when you get to postgraduate level, the intensity of study on the course should be matched by the same intensity in the interview. In a similar way, the interview technique that is applied is allied to the way in which the subject is taught, so that the examiners get a clear idea of which candidates will cope best with the kind of work that is to be undertaken on the course.

When you are preparing for your interview you should take all of this into account and in addition you should find out as much as you can about both the course and the academic institution where you hope to study before your interview. Apart from the fact that this will give you confidence, it is also flattering to the institution to see that you have taken the time and trouble to get to know about the course and the place of study. Doing things such as this in preparation is what separates those who obviously have the commitment to study for a Masters Degree from those who do not. As with most big events in your life, the better prepared you are the more likely you are to be confident and the more chance you have of success.

If you feel you could benefit from help with this, our Masters experts will be only too happy to share the experience they have with you. Therefore, when you are collecting together your information why not consider giving us a call to see if we can help? It's worth a try!

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